Set The Star Aglow
by Painted Angel Wings
Summary: Kisa is the star of the children's choir at the local church, while Hiro is the not so humble janitor boy. Yet somehow, their fates have intertwined almost effortlessly one snowy evening. Hiro x Kisa AU  repost-formally Wrapped In Innocence
1. Chapter 1: The Voice Of Kisa

**Set The Star Aglow**

**Chapter 1: The voice of Kisa**

Hi, everybody! This is story I started back in my freshmen year of highschool…so long ago I know :X I started it and never completed it. But I'm determined to finish it! If this story is vaguely familiar to anyone, I had it posted at some point, but I decided to repost it with some improved dialogue and such. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I no own Fruits basket or the church hymns sung in the story. The only thing that belongs me is Ave, who is my character.

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><p>She closed her amber eyes, letting the melody of the music take her away from her own world. Away from the cold December, away from the excitement of the upcoming Christmas, and the slight linger of November.<p>

She placed her soft hands over her heart as music took a passionate turn, her body swaying slightly to the dramatic rhythm.

Her mouth curved into an innocent, happy smile as she opened her mouth to sing the Latin lyrics. Her distinctive soft, and yet powerful voice bounced and danced off the church walls, leaving her fellow choir mates speechless.

She raised her head high, caught in the passion of the music, ignoring every tiny whisper and thought inside her mind…just concentrating on the steady flow of her voice, and the way she swayed her body gently from side to side.

Raising her arms high to the heavens, she joyfully sang the lyrics to the beautiful song louder than ever before.

**Star of Bethlehem, Star up high,**

**Miracle of the Midnight sky,**

**Let your luminous life of Heaven better our hearts and make us fly.**

**Star of happiness, star of wonder, You see everything from afar.**

**You who've lived through endless ages view with love the age of man.**

**Oh light,**

**Oh holy light,**

**Oh light divine,**

**Shine down you're love for us all**

At the end of the hymn, Kisa opened her eyes and smiled as she slowly returned to her own world, leaving her safe haven for the time being. But she would be back. She always came back.

Kisa's world revolved around music; it was one of her favorite things in the world. Without music, Kisa knew her world would become dark, gray, gloomy… and lonely.

When Kisa was very young, her mother died instantly in a brutal car accident, and in grief, her father committed suicide shortly after the funeral. Orphaned and alone, Kisa was sent to her aunt and uncle. Though they were very kind, they could not take all of her pain away.

So Kisa slowly stopped talking. She felt like she didn't need to talk anymore. Without her parents, she felt guilty carrying on with her own life; what kind of daughter would she be if she did such a thing?

But then… her uncle and aunt took her to a Catholic church, a place Kisa had never been to before. Shortly after arriving, Kisa was immediately entranced to the graceful, harmonic church music.

With the gentle strings, the almighty strength of the organ, and the graceful choir vocals, Kisa listened intently, and felt herself slowly being healed. All of her pain, sorrow, anger, and frustration melted into nothing, like snow on the first day of spring. The hole in her heart left by her parent's death was replaced with a joyful warmth deep inside of her fragile heart. It was as if these negative feelings never existed at all.

After the mass, Kisa walked in her usual silence, then suddenly tugged on the hem of her aunt's shirt.

Surprised, her aunt had turned around, with an obvious expression of confusion on her face.

Sighing, Kisa suddenly whispered, "Auntie…. I want to sing."

It was the first time she had spoken in two months.

And ever since, Kisa had been singing for the church's children's choir, and realized she had a true talent, and love, for singing. That she had something to live for. It was one of the only things that caused total euphoria within her soul; it allowed her to escape and the past runs away, like paint running down a canvas.

"Well done, Well done!" the choir teacher, Ms. Difalco, applauded her students, smiling in great pride at her talented choir. "You've all done very well once again."

Now, the choir was preparing for the upcoming Christmas Eve mass, which would be a very big deal. Ms. Difalco gathered her best singers from the children's choir, and was teaching them the mass songs.

The students bowed politely in response, signifying they were honored to receive her praise.

"Practice is now over," announced as she waved her hand to indicate dismissal. " So please go now, and have a safe trip home."

The giggly group of children started to exit the choir box, and started to head for the church pews to gather their things.

Kisa grinned and left the box to join her friends, and congratulate them.

"Ave-chan!" Kisa tapped her best friend on the back to capture the girl's attention.

Ave turned around, and her bright blue eyes sparkled at the sight of her best friend. Ave was the first person Kisa had met when she joined the choir, and they instantly connected, and became friends.

However, they couldn't be any more different.

While Kisa was polite and shy, Ave was rather abrasive, very outgoing and wasn't a doormat, which Kisa was guilty of. Ave also had a great love for singing, though she was a bit jealous of Kisa's talent. However, she always hid her jealousy well with a cocky smile.

She had straight black hair the reached her shoulders, and luminous blue eyes that never seemed to rest, always burning with passion and restlessness.

"Kisa-chan!" Ave greeted her friend with her signature smile. "You did great tonight!" She praised as she packed her sheet music into her brown leather bag.

Kisa smiled in her usual modest manner as she put on her brown leather jacket over her white, skin tight turtle neck sweater. "Thank you Ave-chan…You did wonderful as well."

Ave sighed in frustration as she snapped her bag shut loudly. "Yeah right. Compared to you I sounded like crap," she huffed, turning away from her best friend swiftly. For a brief moment, she not only looked frustrated, but rather angry. Kisa peered at her with concern and confusion.

"Ave-chan…? What did you mean by…"

"Forget it Kisa-chan," Ave snapped at her quickly to interrupt her. "Its nothing…. really." She flashed Kisa an uncharacteristic cheerful smile, obviously fake.

Kisa recoiled in surprise, but decided to keep quiet after that. Something was bothering Ave, and she knew that it was better not to dig any deeper into her problems.

"Do you want to walk home together, Ave-chan?" Kisa asked innocently, pretending to be oblivious to her friend's outburst. She wrapped her wool multi-colored scarf tightly around her neck. It was her favorite article of clothing.

Ave shook her head, causing her black pigtails to bop her nose gently. "No thanks, Kisa-chan. I have something to do before I go home."

Kisa quickly covered her disappointment with an understanding smile. "That's ok, Ave-chan. I'll see you at practice on Friday then."

After saying their quick goodbyes, Kisa left the church, shivering terribly at the cold, wet, weather. The chill bit her across the nose, as if to hiss at her, her presence outside unwelcome.

She wrapped her tiny arms around herself, trying desperately to shield herself from the harsh cold. Winters weren't usually this wet. They were usually pleasant, with gentle and delicate snowflakes swaying softly from the heavens. Now there wasn't any snow, just cold, slushy mud puddles that made Kisa's toes freeze, even though they were covered.

Kisa hated this type of weather, even though winter was favorite season. But she knew wishing it all away wasn't going to do anything at all.

_I suppose I should start walking home…_ Kisa thought, teeth chattering slightly, pulling her jacket as close to her face as possible.

With great difficulty, Kisa lifted her numb right foot, and started her long, tedious walk home.

Little did she know as she left, a boy about Kisa's age, watched her through the church window, a mop and bucket in his gloved hands.

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><p>Hahaha, wow editing this chapter was fun. Sheesh. I used way too many commas when they weren't needed. And in case you were wondering, the hymn Kisa sings is from Chrno Crusade. I was so creative. –sarcasm- Anyway, hoped yall liked it! Review pleaseee! Anons welcome.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: Janitor Boy

**Set The Star Aglow**

**Chapter 2: The Janitor boy**

Hey, guys! Hope yall enjoyed the first chapter. Thank you to everyone that bothered to read and review. It truly makes a difference :) On with the chapter!

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><p>The church was unusually quiet that Saturday evening. And an annoyed, rather angry 12 year old Hiro, did not like it one little bit.<p>

He scowled bitterly at the brilliantly colored tile in the main hallway as he roughly moved his mop in a single direction, not getting much work done. His small, but very strong hands gripped the chipped wooden handle, ignoring the pain of the splinters.

Despite the pain in his hands, he knew he was getting the job done efficiently. The proof lied within the tiles, which glittered in brilliance underneath the fine chandeliers above his head.

Hiro hated the silence that seemed to engulf the hallways, it was so lonely. It irritated him greatly, causing him to grit his teeth, and mutter curses out of annoyance.

Why…?

Why couldn't he hear her voice once more? That girl… she had the voice of an angel. No, an angel was an understatement. He didn't know anything of higher beauty than an angel, but Hiro knew that there had to be a richer way to describe her.

"Who is she anyway?" Hiro muttered through his teeth as he shook his head in annoyance as he finally changed directions on his old mop. "Why do I even care?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a luminous image of the girl joyfully singing under the bright church spotlight burned into his mind, and refused to fade away into the darkness.

A heavy layer of red formed on Hiro's cheeks as the image grew more luminous, blinding him from the rest of the world.

"Hmph! Stupid girl…" Hiro growled quietly, gripping the old handle harder than ever. "What's so great about her anyway?"

_Maybe its because you loved her voice…? _A quiet, but nonexistent voice seemed to whisper in his right ear, causing Hiro to twitch in annoyance.

"SHUT UP! I NEVER ASKED YOU!" Hiro whirled around quickly, as if someone was behind him, mocking him mercilessly.

"I-I'm sorry…." Hiro jerked his head up as he heard a delicate quiet voice, that seemed to tremble from shyness and a hint of fear. "I-I didn't mean to offend you…"

Hiro turned around, and widened his brown at the tiny little girl in front of him.

It was the girl from last night, standing right before him with her hands clasped tensely to her chest. Her amber eyes were wide with shock, her face the color of tomato juice. Her dirty blonde hair contained bits of white snowflakes, and looked like it had been tossed ruthlessly by wind.

She was wearing a spotless white trench coat, black boots, and that same wool, multicolored scarf.

Hiro just stared dumbly, mouth lowered to his chest. His actions caused her to flush a deeper red.

_Of course she would just show up when I'm making a complete fool of myself…what scould she possibly want with me…?_

_**Last Night**_

"_Boy! Where's that bucket of soap I asked for!" The boss, Machi, barked at the struggling boy, who was dragging a metal bucket that was twice- No, THREE times the size of him._

"_I'm trying, old man!" Hiro growled, using the last of his strength to thrust the bucket at Machi's feet, sweat traveling down both sides of his face, and face flushed to a rich red._

"_Feh. Disobedient as always, boy," Machi smirked at the panting boy, who was still trying to catch his breath. "I don't why I always get stuck with you on night duty."_

_Hiro glared nastily at him, annoyance filling his face._

"_Shut up, old man! Why do you always call me boy, anyway?"_

_Machi laughed whole heartily, his laughter echoing through the elegant church hallway._

"_Who knows? Why do you always call me, 'Old man'?" His expression clearly showed he had won this battle._

_Hiro grumbled and growled under his breath as he started to mop the hallway, which made Machi laugh whole heartily once again._

_Even though they always argued, Hiro viewed Machi to be his father. Hiro's father left the family without warning, leaving his broken hearted, but unbroken mother all alone with Hiro, and an unborn brother or sister._

_Still to this day, Hiro held great anger and resentment towards his father, going as far as to claim that he didn't even have a father. Watching his mother suffer, mostly in silence, was something he wasn't ready to forgive his deadbeat father for anytime soon._

_Since Hiro's mother's job did not bring too much money, Hiro started to work at the local church as the janitor boy, and Machi willingly and kindly took Hiro under his wing, showing him the ropes._

_Deep down, Hiro has always appreciated Machi's kindness, but his stubborn pride and personality prevented Hiro from telling him so._

"_I'll be right back, Boy. Don't slip over your mopping job while I'm away." Machi smirked at Hiro once again as he turned towards the men's room._

_Hiro bristled tensely, teeth gritted, and fists clenched. "LEAVE OLD MAN! NOW!" With both hands, Hiro pushed Machi towards the bathroom door, eager to get rid of him and his sarcastic remarks._

_Machi chuckled happily with amusement as he closed the giant oak door that lead to the men's bathroom._

'_Damn that old man…' Hiro narrowed his eyes at the floor, his ears slowly tuning into the music of the choir, which was just beginning its Friday night practice. 'I thought I was the sarcastic one.'_

_After a few moments of mopping, his ears picked up something different. Sure, everyone was singing… but one voice seemed to crawl out from the rest, and seemed to pierce right into his restless heart._

"_Hmm…?" Hiro looked up , his curiosity taking over him… wondering who could be singing in such a beautiful voice._

_Hiro's brown eyes quickly darted around the hallway, making sure that Machi was not only away, but also out of sight._

"_Heh. That stupid old man can do the rest.." Hiro muttered stubbornly as he cracked open the giant oak church door, trying to find the source of the elegant voice, and not get caught not working simultaneously._

_He narrowed his eyes and cracked the door a little further, for it was hard to get a good look at anything with the door barely cracked._

_He finally found the perfect balance, and propped the door at just thr right width. _

_Hiro's breath was taken away by what he found._

_It was girl… obviously. But she was a very small, frail, and delicate looking girl, nothing what Hiro expected._

_Her eyes were closed, and her arms were raised to the ceiling, as if she was proclaiming something for the whole world and universe to hear._

_The bright church spotlight caused her amber hair to shine brilliantly in the luminous light._

_And what really caught Hiro's eye was her smile. It was not only joyful, but it was also innocent and pure, and no tragedy in the world would ever cause her to frown or cry._

_To Hiro, it was beautiful._

_But once he stopped examining her physical appearance, he tuned his ears to her voice, which empowered her other choir mates._

_It was enchanting… but also had a hint of sadness. Yet, it was still pleasant, and Hiro felt his soul growing warm and rather peaceful, which was rare for someone like him._

"_Amazing…"_

_However, his memorizing moments were rudely cut off when he felt a strong hand roughly jerk him back towards the cold floor._

"_HEY!" Hiro's head landed harshly on the tile, the face of an annoyed Machi overshadowing him. "Oh… uhh… old man…."_

"_You still have mopping to do, boy!" Machi growled, dragging Hiro away from his well hidden hiding place. " Stop wasting your time spying and stalking pretty choir girls."_

Hiro kept staring at the nervous girl, struggling to find his words.

_What do I.. What do I say…? Sorry for out loud to myself? I wasn't yelling at her! Man, I'm such an idiot!_

"Umm…. May I ask you to do something for me… please?" The girl stared at him pleadingly, the hallway candle light reflecting inside her eyes. " Its very important to me."

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><p><strong>Woo! I actually how I wrote this chapter so I didn't change much. Hope yall like it so far! Don't forget to review!<strong>


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